2006:275 - BANESHANE, Cork

Test-trenching was carried out before construction of two dwelling houses in a greenfield site located immediately to the west of an oval enclosure, which measures 120m north–south by 90m. The east boundary of the development site is formed by the curved earthen bank delimiting the west side of the enclosure. The earthen bank in this area measures 0.6–1m high by 0.4m thick and is colonised by mature trees. This feature will not be impacted on by the proposed development and there was no visible surface trace of an enclosure ditch. The eastern line of the enclosure bank was removed during land improvement works in 1975. A programme of test-trenching and monitoring was previously carried out by Eamonn Cotter in the interior of the enclosure prior to, and during, the construction of a dwelling house within the north-west quadrant of the site (Excavations 1995, No. 24, 95E0128). There were no archaeological features or finds uncovered during those site investigations.

The stratigraphy encountered in the eleven test-trenches excavated in the proposed development site to the west of the enclosure consisted of the topsoil layer directly overlying the natural subsoil. There was no trace of an enclosure ditch recorded in the test-trenches extending outwards from the enclosure bank. Given the absence of any archaeological deposits or artefacts in the excavations both inside and outside the enclosure, this site may be the remains of a landscaped demesne feature, perhaps associated with Ballyannan House, an 18th-century country house located c. 600m to the south. Due to the proximity of the development to the enclosure, it was recommended that the proposed construction of the two dwelling houses be carried out under archaeological supervision.

Deanrock Business Park, Togher, Cork